


No Greater Gift

by synchronicities



Series: So No One Told You [2]
Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 03:59:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17216606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/synchronicities/pseuds/synchronicities
Summary: Jason is really into Christmas. Eleanor isn't, but she'll deal.





	No Greater Gift

**Author's Note:**

> The Philippines as a country LOVES Christmas. As someone who starts blasting Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You as soon as the clock hits 12 AM on September 1, I of course had to write a fic about it, and then of course didn't finish it in time for Christmas. 
> 
> Title from "Give Love on Christmas Day" :'))))

_September_

In late September, Eleanor trips over a box outside her doorway and nearly slams into her door, letting out a string of profanities that would make her own mother blush in the process.

As if drawn by her messes, Chidi opens his door down the hall. His glasses are askew and he looks concerned; at the sight of him, Eleanor instinctively straightens, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Everything okay?”

She gives him a mock-salute. “Everything’s fine, teach. I just tripped over this–” she bends down. “Package?” She squints at the information printed on it before stomping across the hall and raising her fist to bang at the door. She catches Chidi’s eye as she does so, though, and settles for two reasonably loud knocks and a call of “Jason!”

There’s some shuffling, a bang, and the sound of something breaking before Jason opens the door. His hair is messy and his shirt is on backwards, but he grins at Eleanor when he sees her. “Eleanor! Wanna see this sick new way I invented of taking shirts off?”

She blinks at him. “No…thank you, Jason.” She holds up the box. “I believe this is yours?”

He glances at the package before his face lights up again. “Oh, cool, the wreathes came in,” Jason says, opening the door further and taking the box from her.

“Wreathes?” Chidi’s curious voice says. Eleanor nearly jumps upon realizing he’s right behind her, but she tries to play it cool. “Like… Christmas wreathes?”

Jason puts the box down on his very cluttered couch and starts tearing it open with his bare hands. Indeed, the box contains two plastic-wrapped Christmas wreathes, outfitted with equally fake pinecones, poinsettias, and ribbons. “Duh.”

“It’s September,” Eleanor adds dubiously. Beside her, Chidi tenses; he’s probably taking in the sheer mess of Jason’s apartment. “And calm down,” she says to him. “It’s not like this was a surprise.

“September’s Christmas,” Jason says easily. Eleanor and Chidi look at each other and simply don’t question it.

“I kinda miss that feeling of peace we thought we were gonna get when Michael said Evelyn’s housesitter was a Buddhist monk,” says Chidi.

* * *

_October_

“–I’m just _saying_ ,” Eleanor says as she and Tahani exit the elevator, “‘Thrift shopper’ isn’t a _scary_ Halloween costume.”

Tahani scoffs. “To people like yourself, I suppose not,” she says, following Eleanor into the hallway. “But to knowingly purchase such, er, _well-loved_ items is rather horrifying to me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Her friend opens her mouth to respond, but Eleanor stops their surely impending spat with a hand on her forearm. “Wait, do you hear that?”

Tahani frowns and quiets. Sure enough, the sounds of a male singer accompanied by sleigh bells reverberate throughout their hallway. Eleanor and Tahani glance at each other.

“Hold on,” Tahani says. “That’s my 2013 Secret Santa!”

Eleanor’s forehead crumples in confusion before she recognizes the voice. “You refer to _Michael Buble_ as your _2013 Secret Santa_?”

Tahani nods. “It’s true. Just ask Elton John, he hosted Christmas that year.”

But Eleanor’s already walking down the hallway and opening Jason’s door. “Mendoza, is your calendar broken? It’s freaking October 15.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Jason has literally broken a physical calendar,” Tahani surmises, following her neighbor into Jason’s apartment.

“Eleanor, I didn’t give you all keys so you could interrupt my jamming sesh,” Jason says with utmost seriousness.

Eleanor is unimpressed. “You gave us keys because you ate your copy then flushed the spare down the toilet.”

“Oh! Right.”

“I think Eleanor’s wondering why you’re playing Michael Buble’s Christmas album so, um, early in the year,” Tahani interrupts as nicely as she can. “By the way, he sounds much better live.”

“ _Because_ ,” Jason says, exaggeratedly slowly this time, “It’s almost Christmas. It’s like, two weeks from Christmas.”

“Two months,” Eleanor says flatly.

Jason just shrugs. “My dad says that back where he came from, Christmas is a four-month thing. So me and Pillboi would always be like, singing Jingle Bells in September or something!”

Tahani notices that Eleanor’s bristling. “That actually sounds rather fun,” she says. “More time to be jolly, and spend time with family, as they say.”

He grins. “That’s right,” he says. And then in a moment of clarity, he adds, “Although I get that it might be weird, or something. I can change the jams if you like! I have all the greats – Skrillex, Acidcat, DJ Mr. Music, the Chainsmokers, DJ Mr. Music’s 2nd album…”

“We’ll pass,” says Eleanor hurriedly. “Just…keep it down, okay, buddy?” Jason shoots her a thumbs-up.

“Oh, Jason, darling, that’s right,” Tahani says on their way out. “Do you already have a costume for the building’s Halloween party next week?”

Jason just grins at them. “Halloween? That’s easy, bro. I’m just gonna raid a thrift shop.”

* * *

_November_

It takes three dubious-sounding crashes for Eleanor to make her way to Jason’s apartment for the third Christmas-related time in three months. She brings Chidi and Tahani with her this time, just for backup.

“At least,” Chidi says, surveying the damage. “At least it’s November. It’s a reasonable time to start putting up the tree.”

“Hi, guys!” Jason says cheerily. “I’m decorating.”

“Um, yes.” Tahani steps past a box of ceramic snowmen. “I don’t suppose you’d like our help?”

“That would be dope, yo. Back home, it would be me and Donkey Doug and Pillboi, but they’re not here. And I don’t actually know how to stick this tree together.”

Chidi’s eyebrows shoot up. He nudges Eleanor. “Good thing you called us over,” he murmurs, before moving towards Jason and delicately taking part of the artificial tree from him. “Here, I’ll help with this.” He turns to Tahani and Eleanor. “Maybe you guys can do the other decorations?”

Tahani breaks into a grin. “Oh, of course. Jason, I will use your auntie’s decorations to put the Kardashian Christmas party to shame!”

“Oh, lovely,” Eleanor drawls, picking up a small box holding a nativity scene and following Tahani.

It takes a couple of hours and more than a few arguments, but the four of them get Jason’s apartment dressed up to a ridiculous degree – the tree in the corner, poinsettias and pinecones and lights strung up everywhere, Aunt Evelyn’s ceramic snowmen and other breakable decorations carefully stowed away – and they’re sitting on the old couch sipping some of Tahani’s nonfat Swiss hot chocolate. Jason’s entertaining Tahani with Floridian Christmas horror stories when Chidi turns to Eleanor.

“So,” he says. “Do you just…not like Christmas, or something?”

Eleanor knits her eyebrows together and ignores the gnawing feeling in her chest. “Why?”

Chidi shrugs lightly, and Eleanor doesn’t know how to react to the fact that he’s learned to read her rather well. “Just a feeling. You’re always kind of antsy when it comes up.”

“Oh.” She wrings her hands together, stares at Jason’s saccharine apartment, Tahani going to all sorts of celebrity Christmas parties, the holiday carolers she snubs outside, Chidi making gingerbread or whatever. Thinks of her parents’ half-assed Christmas tree, her classmates talking about their expensive gifts when school came back, and shrinking into herself when asked if her Christmas vacation was _nice_.

“I just don’t get it,” she finally admits. “Christmas isn’t a _thing_ for me. My schools sucked, I wasn’t raised religious, I never had any extended family to give me nice shit, and my parents were assholes. When I was five, my mom put a tooth in my stocking because she mixed up Santa and the tooth fairy. And now you’re all here, and making it a _thing_ , and it’s just…” She huffs. “Weird.”

Jason and Tahani have stopped talking and are now staring at her. Eleanor hmphs, feeling oddly self-conscious. “For me, it’s a day of useless spending for relatives and coworkers you don’t even like, and traffic, and just all this…annoying hoopla. So to see you guys actually giving a shit, it’s like…”

Her neighbors glance at each other.

“I think,” Chidi starts. He reconsiders his words and tries again. “Well, I was raised Muslim, so obviously I wasn’t raised really loving it either, the religious stuff–” He waves a hand. “And obviously, I can’t speak to your past experiences. But now I’ve come to believe that Christmas has evolved to be more than a religious celebration. It’s nice that there’s a time of year when the entire world’s decided to try and be nice to each other, don’t you think?”

“My family was not religious, so they never celebrated it either,” Tahani adds. “But when you work in philanthropy, Christmas is without a doubt a big deal. There’s just something about the joy it brings, even for people who aren’t Christian, or weren’t raised in it.”

“And c’mon, Eleanor,” Jason says, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “You got us now.”

Eleanor exhales forcefully, feeling almost like there are tears burning in the back of her eyes.

These _idiots_.

Chidi moves to pat her on the shoulder and Tahani smiles, her dimples showing. “You do.”

“Like,” Jason continues, “Maybe I don’t care so much about Christian Bale’s birthday, or whatever. But sometimes it’s just fun, you know? It’s why I like celebrating so early. All the holidays, and presents, and music, and being with people you like.” He smiles. “And you know that cops can’t arrest you if it’s Christmas, it’s against the law.”

The three of them blink at him.

“You do realize it’s not Christian Bale’s birthday we celebrate on Christmas, right,” Chidi interrupts.

“It’s in January,” Tahani adds unhelpfully. “I got him linens this year.”

“Nah,” Eleanor says finally. “Let him have this one, guys. I’m not getting you guys any presents, though,” she adds hastily. “Our friendship is the gift. It’s priceless.”

* * *

_December_

“So, I know I said I wasn’t getting you any gifts last month,” Eleanor announces at dinner. “But as it turns out, I love feeling like I owned someone when I get them a great gift and they got me a stocking stuffer, so – merry Christmas, suckers!” She rummages around in her bag and hands out presents to her neighbors. 

“Sweet,” Jason says, tearing the package open. “A Pikachu hat!”

“It’s a start,” Chidi says, but he’s grinning. "Thanks, Eleanor." She hopes he likes David Hume.

“Oh, thank you, darling,” Tahani says, accepting the package. Eleanor knows she’ll hate the thrifted ugly Christmas sweater, but thinks she’ll look hot in it anyway.

Eleanor sits back, her stomach full of potatoes and turkey and mulled wine. “Okay, are we in agreement that I’ve won Christmas? Even if this is Tahani’s apartment and Chidi cooked?”

Chidi and Tahani share a glance. “Actually, I got you something,” Tahani says slowly. "And I got everyone else something, too."

“So did I,” says Chidi.

Eleanor scoffs, but something nice and warm curls around her heart and the thought. “Ugh, you guys ruined it.”

“I didn’t get you anything,” Jason pipes up.

Still, looking around the dinner table at neighbors she’s grown to love more than she thought she ever would, she can’t quite bring herself to be upset. “It’s fine, buddy,” she says, the smile creeping onto her face easily. “It’s Christmas.”


End file.
